Danbury entered the bottom of the tenth with a 4-3 lead, but pinch-hitter Jay Harry yanked a game-winning two-run single down the right-field line to put Bristol in the win column.
Bristol (18-6) has earned a walk-off victory in four straight home games, and Danbury (12-13) is now 1-2 in extra-inning contests this season.
Harry subbed in for pinch-runner Zach Stephenson and collected the game-winning hit in his only at-bat. Blues’ second baseman Tyler Fote went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored, and shortstop Chaz Myers had a 2-4 night with a double and two runs scored.
Westerners’ left fielder Henry Strmecki went 3-5 with three singles and two runs scored, and five other players tallied a hit. Nick Romano extended his hitting streak to four games after having a 1-4 night with a walk.
Blues’ starter Jagger Duquette cruised through his first three innings of work, but the Westerners plated their first run in the top of the fourth. Westerners’ second baseman Mike Becchetti ignited the offense with an infield single on the left side of the infield, and he advanced to third on a throwing error by Duquette. Duquette snagged a sharp ground ball off the bat of Romano, but he sailed it into center field when he was trying to turn a double play. One batter later, Hank Thomas made it a 1-0 ballgame by knocking in Becchetti on a bouncing ball to the second baseman.
In the bottom of the fifth, Bristol bounced back with a run of their own. Chaz Myers led the inning off by lining a single into right field, and he trotted into second after the ball took a crazy hop past the right fielder. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Myers tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Fote to even things up at 1.
Danbury tacked on a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Danniel Rivera, but Bristol snatched the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning. Blues’ catcher Andrew Calhoun blooped a single in front of the right fielder to start the frame, and Chaz Myers plated him by scorching a double into the right-center gap. After AJ Gaich went down swinging, Tyler Fote smoked an RBI single over the leaping try of the shortstop to gift his team a one-run lead.
Things looked bleak for the Westerners in the top of the ninth, but they pulled another comeback out of their hat. Danbury was down to their final out, but Henry Strmecki kept his team alive by dumping a base hit into the left-center field gap. Joey Skarad stepped up to the plate next and faced a 1-2 count from Blues’ relief pitcher Brendan O’Donnell. After taking a pitch off the plate, Skarad smashed a ball that one-hopped the Pepsi-Cola sign in right-center field. Bobby Rodriguez emphatically waved Strmecki home, and the Westerners’ left fielder slid in safely to tie the ballgame up at 3.
Although the Westerners knocked in the potential go-ahead run, they stranded two runners on base and granted Bristol the opportunity to keep the game alive. With the California Tiebreaker still in effect, Bristol started their half of the frame with a runner on second. This runner swiped third on a wild pitch, and first baseman Ryan Wilson stole second after earning a free pass. Jay Harry fell behind 1-2, but he served the next pitch down the right-field line to bring both runners in and end the ballgame.
Blues relief pitcher Thomas Benincaso (1-0) earned the win after allowing a run over 1.1 innings, and Billy Oldham (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
Jagger Duquette (0-0) went 5.2 innings and only surrendered an unearned run on four hits. The Wagner product did not allow a walk and struck out six Westerners’ batters in his outing.
Westerners’ starter Zach Grace (0-0) almost had an identical line to Duquette. The southpaw dominated in his five innings of work because he conceded an unearned run on four hits, walked two, and fanned five.
Danbury will look to rebound from this loss when they travel to Mackenzie Stadium and battle the Valley Blue Sox on Thursday night. Sean Hogan will take the mound for the first time since his masterful performance at Vermont, and the first pitch will be thrown at 6:35 pm ET.